Chris Amirault

I was just going to write the same thing. It seems like it's a way to determine unripe produce -- anti-marketing. Who'd want that?

That's fascinating. I had to stop by WF today to get a few things, and I noticed that they'd started tweaking their produce signs a bit. There are usually two categories, "Conventional" and "Organic," but on the "Conventional" corn outside the store the sign read "Regional NE Corn!" Seems like it won't be long before "Regional" or "Local" get incorporated more explicitly into their in-store marketing and labeling, given this announcement.

Those in the New England area should definitely check out the selection at Farmstead Cheese here in Providence. Those outside the area can ogle at the photos in that link.

Great stuff, John! That lobster roll looked pretty wee, though. How big was it?

That's what I thought, too, Steve, until I watched a few episodes. You can tell she got her start doing demos at supermarkets, as she explains nearly everything she does. Not that I'm all that psyched about her "Jimmy Two-Times Two-Times" menu, but credit where credit's due.

It does look cleansing. Speaking of which, we've got a stomach virus plowing through our house, so: chicken noodle soup. I simmered a whole chicken a la Barbara Tropp, removed the meat and tossed the bones back into the pot, and cooked the stock down. Thinly sliced garlic and ginger sauteed with a bit of schmaltz, then the stock, then thinly sliced mushroom, red bell pepper, kale, and chicken. Blanched some thin egg noodles; plopped them in a bowl; soup on top; minced scallions and a few drops of sesame oil. I still feel lousy but, man, that was good.

We're reopening the topic, once again, to discussion about "No Reservations," the shows and production both. As we all surely wish Tony well upon his return stateside, let's keep those kind thoughts out of this topic. Thanks!

" [D]ecapitation, evisceration and gall bladder identification": childhood is not what once it was. Great stuff, Maggie.

For example: Ina Garten is making roast chicken on croutons. Why can't she cut up a roast chicken properly? Why is she using a wooden spoon to turn croutons instead of flipping them in the pan? It's very strange to me that a food professional wouldn't have these basic skills and wouldn't want to teach them. I mean, not everyone is Pepin and every show can't be La Technique. But turning individual croutons with a wooden spoon? I don't get it.

Pam, do you soak 'em a good 30-45 minutes before using them? You can also wrap the ends with foil if you want.

Some illnesses to members of my family have forced me to be home the last two days, and I've had FTV on in the background while I do the laundry, change the baby, and so on. I've noticed something and I'm wondering what other people think about this impression. I've been surprised at how basic kitchen technique is and isn't represented on television cooking shows. I wasn't surprised to see that Sara Moulton takes virtually every opportunity (even with Grant Achatz standing beside her, arms crossed grumpily) to link her and her guest's actions to fundamentals like peeling hard root vegetables or oranges. But I was shocked to see Rachael Ray doing the same sorts of things on her show. She salted pasta water, talked about appropriate pan size, trimmed the pepper ribs and seeds -- and explained what and why she was doing the whole time. Watching Tyler Florence filling a blender within a quarter inch or piling chicken wings one on top of the other while saying "one layer" repeatedly? Expected. Watcing Ina Garten put maybe six cups of water into a pot, bring it to the boil, and put a pound of pasta into the unsalted water? That was a surprise; I admit I had higher expectations. Basic technique, of course: we're not talking about sugar work here. But it seems to me that these shows are the perfect opportunity to explain rudimentary technique without getting preachy. I mean, if Rachael Ray is doing it, I don't know why other folks aren't. So who's showing us technique on the television -- the one medium best suited to do so?

Easier on the grill? In prep? At the table? I ask bc I like the slight friction that the bamboo provides; the metal seems too slippery to me.

What are the advantages of using the metal skewers instead of soaked bamboo skewers? I always use the latter and have great results.

Every now and then since December 2004, a good number of us have been getting together at the eGullet Recipe Cook-Off. Click here for the Cook-Off index. For our twenty-fourth Cook-Off, we're making kebabs, satays, and skewers. For a while, we toyed with the idea of calling the topic by the more generic and descriptive name, "Meat on a Stick." But we went with three possible interpretations of meat on a stick instead -- to which, of course, you should add your own. snowangel was kind enough to dig out a few jillion related topics here on eG Forums, including: Grub's Seekh Kebab Demo Lamb Kebabs ala Monica Bhide Seekh Kebabs Authentic Chicken Kebab recipe I Love Kebabs Fish Kebabs Shish Kebab Beef Satay Satay -- anyone have a real good, authentic recipe? So, techniques? Skewer styles? Seasonings? Favorite meats? Sauces? Let's see 'em all!

Don't need to do that, I'd think. BTW, the eyes run in spirals across the face of the fruit, so if you're deft with a knife, you can cut them out with continuous grooves, leaving more of the non-eye flesh.

I'm still screwing around with the base of this drink. Tonight, I came up with a pretty well-balanced cocktail that didn't have any soda/ginger ale in it: 2 oz bourbon 3/4 oz lime juice 1/2 gingered syrup big dash orange bitters big dash Peychaud's bitters It needs a name (or, if it exists, an attribution). It's sort of crusta-y, though without that Maraschino backbone. Very nice indeed.

Capital Grille is still here. I haven't been in years and was not impressed the two times I went long ago.

Apparently the bridge repair is done; I had no trouble driving around the entire Cape Ann area for the day. And the clams were runnin' small the day I was there....

One way to find out! Try it and let us know. Speaking of tweaking the recipes toward Asia, I found a cheap Niman Ranch tenderloin at Whole Foods and decided to make a pork rub using the sugar/salt/seasoning proportions in the book but with 2T black pepper, 2T roasted red chile powder, 1T galangal, and 1t cinnamon. Rubbed the loin, wrapped it tightly for two days, and roasted it in a 450F oven to 140F. It's great; just had a few slices for lunch, after last night's salad with it.

Like, last week. I'd caution that McC&S is best understood as a fantastic place to get fresh oysters. Their entrees are spotty, in my experience.

For the brave of heart and sound of mind, a brief introduction to Chuck E Cheese's can be found here. Enter, ye who dare.

Sure thing. If you want something upscale/expensive, try New Rivers, Neath's, XO Steakhouse, Gracie's, Mills Tavern, or Al Forno; if you want something less expensive but still pretty good, try Parkside, 3 Steeple Street, or Pakarang. Much less expensive but great if you like a younger crowd and basic, good food is the Red Fez. If I were choosing but not paying, I'd go to New Rivers or Al Forno -- or I'd try the new Gracie's, which is getting good reviews. If I were paying, we'd have a grilled cheese and a Boddington's or a Big House Red at Red Fez.

[Moderator's Note: I've just received this email from Anthony Bourdain -- CA] Me, Jerry, Todd, Tracey and Diane are all safely home .. I should tell you that expressions of concern here at eGullet were a comfort to us while we hunkered down in Beirut..and that we're enormously grateful to the Travel Channel, who took extreme measures to see we were as safe as possible while in Beirut--and then went to extraordinary lengths to get us safely and quickly back. Main Man at Travel, Patrick Younge, even met us at the airport with a pack of my very-hard-to-find cigarette of choice in hand. I can't say enough nice things about the Beirut (and the Beirutis) we saw and met in the short time before everything went to hell. And I can't begin to describe how regretful we are that we won't be able to show the world how beautiful a place, how good the food, how nice the people we experienced in the two short days we had of unrestrained filming . Freshly back--and ahead of so many others-- it would seem ungrateful to share my dim view of how the US embassy and State dept. appeared to be going about their business. BUT: My admiration for the sailors and marines of the Nashville and the way in which they--at short notice, last minute, steamed from Jordan to perform an incredible difficult job (for which they had had little if any experience) is boundless. The minute we became charges of the navy and marines, we (and everyone else aboard--from beachhead to Cyprus) were treated with breathtaking kindness,generosity and sensitivity. The minute we passed into their care, every aspect of exfiltration was performed with incredible efficiency and care. I will never forget the impromptu refugee camp set up on the Nashville's flight deck: EVERY group of huddled evacuees, families, children, old people--had at least one or two marines sitting with them, talking to them, seeing to their needs. Most of these young men and women knew nothing of Beirut. Many who I spent time with on the smoking deck (Yes! a smoking deck!), had never even been to New York--much less been trained to handle (in many cases) psychologically shattered refugees. They treated everyone, EVERYONE with patience, courtesy and kindness. The logistical challenges alone were enormous--that they managed to perform them so flawlessly AND keep the kids amused, feed any and all tuna noodle casserole, macaroni and cheese, corn dogs and key lime pie...give up their own blankets and sheets...give tours and every other imaginable measure of hospitality was..well..awesome. To my mind, they put every other branch of govt involved in this horror show to shame. It is always a joy and a relief to find oneself in the hands of professionals. You have all likely seen the photo of the young marine, Sanchez, holding two infants, kissing one of the cheek as he carried them across the water onto the landing craft. It was quite another thing to meet him and talk with him (him still holding a freshly printed copy of tomorrow's wire service cover photo)...an ordinary young man, getting ribbed by his buddies for being thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Bashful, proud, emotional and inspiringly..human. We are very aware--painfully aware--that we are among the fortunate. Our hearts and best wishes go out to all those we left behind. We will never forget what we saw.

Not likely, I'm afraid, but I'm eager to hear from you and others!

Folks, I had to delete a slew of posts here because they had nothing to do with food or drink. Please do stay on topic. Thanks a bunch.